Just Booked my first Ft. Wilderness Trip!!!!!

[ChrisinNJ]

Its 10 months from now, But I am still

I requested 900 loop.

So now a few (more) questions. Since we are new RVers and haven't camped, other than in the driveway . I am not sure how my dog will be in the RV, especially when we are away.

If you take your dog to the Ft., do you leave him or her while you are at the parks? Do you use the pet care center? Since we won't have a car, getting her to/from the pet care center would be a problem. Do you take a mid day park break and come back to walk your dog? Trying to decide if we should even consider taking her or get a sitter...

What are the dining options at the Ft.? I have heard people talking about take out pizza and fried chicken. Is there a quick service dining place? Do you need reservations at all if the restaurants at the Ft.? I know you do for Hoop Dee Doo. Which restaurants do you like/ not like and why?

I am sure I will have a bunch of other questions for you, but for now I am just excited to be booked!!!

 

[jbrostek]

Well to start with, how is your dog when everyone is away from home? If that is not a bother, then you have 10 months to get the pup aquainted to RV style travel. My pups are comfortable at home, they are dogs so they will woof at people close to the house, and they do the same with the RV....but even the first year with the RV, they seemed to learn quickly the "property line" and seem to only bark if your very close to the RV. I would take her camping first and see how she does. And then decide closer to departure.

I travel with a group of pet owners, and we always plan our days around a mid day stop back at the RV to walk the pups and spent an hour or so with them before we head back out. It ensures they get to go out, and they dont get lonely with us gone for a long day even though mine are used to being home 11-12 hours a day till I get home from work. It is also vacation for us as we just try to balence relaxing with getting to the things we want to do.

Trails end has a reasonable quick service seated eating for dinner, lunch, and a great breakfast buffet. We have never needed a reservation for that, but I have never done takeout from them. Hoop Dee Doo actually requires tickets for the show (which includes food and a reasonable drink selection) not just reservations. We enjoyed the show and the food.

We generally eat out about half the time we are there. And getting to and from downtown disney or other resorts is not that difficult. If you are not 100% sure about how to get somewhere, just ask the front desk of the campground.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

At home she is fine left alone. She does bark at people on our property. We plan to take her camping with us thus summer. We have a week booked in MD with a group. We also plan to do a lot of weekend trips.

She isn't one to chew furniture or anything like that. My biggest worry is the screens on the windows and doors if she jumps up or claws.

Generally when we go to WDW we like to do 3-4 days in the park (on an 8 night trip) and spend the rest of the time relaxing. DH and DS want to fish. DS wants to rent a searaycer. I want to spend some of our downtime checking out some of the other Disney resorts like Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom. If it is warm enough the kids will want to swim.

The park days are the longest we would leave her. We can definitely plan a break to let her get out and stretch her legs.

 

[jbrostek]

I have no issues with the window screens with my pups, but just in case I close the day blinds to add a layer and give them less to see and bark at. For the door, they make a screen gaurd to install on the inside and a worthwhile investment for a pet owner. The biggest issue is if you have a motorhome rather then a trailer is your front window blinds. Mine are drape like and the pups can get behind them without doing any damage. A friends are like the day/night shades and pleated and their pups still get behind them but its a pain when they have to fix the pleates to close them.

 

[ChrisinNJ]

I have no issues with the window screens with my pups, but just in case I close the day blinds to add a layer and give them less to see and bark at. For the door, they make a screen gaurd to install on the inside and a worthwhile investment for a pet owner. The biggest issue is if you have a motorhome rather then a trailer is your front window blinds. Mine are drape like and the pups can get behind them without doing any damage. A friends are like the day/night shades and pleated and their pups still get behind them but its a pain when they have to fix the pleates to close them.

We have the black shades that come down in front of the windshield, curtains that pull around to cover the side (driver/passenger) windows and fill the gap on the side of the shade.

The rest of the windows have the day/ night pleated shades.

I definitely need to buy the screen guard for the door screen. At home when she wants to go out or in, she scratches the door. We don't have screen doors at home, so I never had to train her not to touch them. She's a pretty smart girl and I think she will adjust well to the RV once she gets used to it.

Its parked in our driveway and the kids are so excited to use it that we have had dinner, watched movies and slept in it out there. Because it has been winterized we go in the house to use the bathroom. The dog loves hanging out in it with us, but every time I leave the MH, she follows me. She hasn't been in it alone yet.

Will be moving it in a week or 2 to store it at an RV storage yard.

 

[Magic Fanatic]

At home she is fine left alone. She does bark at people on our property.

My only suggestion is if you're dog barks when people come on your property, you should consider leaving her at home. We once took ours with us not knowing that all the traffic around our site through out the day led to her barking all day while we were away. It made for some very unhappy neighbors, which we felt bad about.

 

[jbrostek]

Excessive barking, I agree on. Some barking is to be expected and thats why they have pet loops as other pet owners are usually more tolerant of the occasional barking in the window. The good thing is the sites are large and at least for my pups, set back far enough that they dont feel the need to bark non stop when I am away. It helps that they spend a lot of weekends in the RV, and are used to it. We do about 20 weekends from march through november, and then the trip to FL every year.

You have to play it by ear, get her out at a campsite, get far enough away from the RV that she thinks you left and then see how she reacts. An alternative is setup a gopro or other video camera while you take a 20-30 minute trip and see how she does.

I ran my gopro on the pups once and while they barked at one or two passers by shortly after I left, they both went to their comfy spots and napped, then played together for a bit and back to a nap.....all in the matter of an hour.

 

[lodge]

be sure to read the thread about the local pet care places.... you want the best for your loved one.